That wasn’t the only surprising result in the quarterfinals in Madrid. After looking like the third best team in the tournament through its first six games, Brazil got hammered by Serbia 84-56. So instead of Spain-Brazil in the semis, we’ve got France-Serbia on Friday (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

France and Serbia finished third and fourth in Group A. But they’re both playing their best at the right time, and at least one of them will be winning a medal. Their first meeting went down to the wire, with France winning 74-73 thanks to a no-call on one end and a foul call on the other.

Serbia was upset about that finish. And they were upset about the way they lost in the semifinals of the last edition of this tournament. Up 82-81 on host Turkey with 4.3 seconds left, Serbia just needed a stop to advance to the final and guarantee itself a medal. They forced a loose ball, but Turkey point guard Kerem Tunceri picked it up and drove for a layup to win the game.

The issue? Replays showed that Tunceri’s foot was on the sideline when he first touched the ball. And that was just one of many calls that Serbia, who lost to Lithuania in the bronze medal game, was upset about. So they’re out for some revenge on Friday, in more ways than one.

The winner will face the U.S. for the gold medal on Sunday, and will be the toughest opponent the Americans have faced in the World Cup. The loser will face Lithuania for bronze. Here are five things to watch…

Offense vs. defense

Serbia had the World Cup’s fourth most efficient offense through the quarterfinals, having scorched Brazil’s defense (which had ranked third through the round of 16) in the second half on Wednesday. France comes in with the fourth best defense in the tournament, having shut down Spain’s No. 2 offense in the quarterfinals.

Both performances were impressive. The other end of the floor will matter too, but if France can slow down the Serbian offense, they’ll be in good shape.

Another (big) game for Milos?

Milos Teodosic is one of the most entertaining basketball players in the world. The 6-foot-5, 27-year-old combo guard was coming off the bench for Serbia in its first four games, but has started the last three. And he saved his best performance for the quarterfinals, dropping 23 points on Brazil, with 16 of those coming in what was a tight first half.

Teodosic will take some crazy shots, but they often go in. And if he’s hitting from the outside, Serbia’s pick-and-rolls become very difficult to defend and other things open up in their offense.

France’s young bigs

It’s difficult to say that France is “missing” Joakim Noah, because the Bulls’ center has only played in one tournament (2011 Eurobasket) for them. They are missing two centers from last year’s Eurobasket championship team: Alexis Ajinca and Johan Petro, as well as the Pacers’ Ian Mahinmi, who injured his shoulder before the World Cup began.

That left 22 year olds Joffrey Lauvergne and Rudy Gobert to man the center spot. The 6-foot-10 Lauvergne is a natural power forward who was a non-factor on last year’s team. Gobert wasn’t on the roster.

But the two young guys have held their own and played their best games against the Gasol brothers on Wednesday. For Gobert in particular, it was a breakout performance, as he outrebounded Pau and Marc 13-12.

Having played two years for Partizan Belgrade, Lauvergne has some extra motivation against this particular opponent. In the first meeting, he (19 points, six rebounds) went toe-to-toe with former Milwaukee Buck Miroslav Raduljica (21 and seven). And it was Lauvergne’s free throw after a foul call on Raduljica that won the game for France with 4.8 seconds left. It’s a fascinating matchup of quickness vs. size.

Batum vs. Bogdanovic

Teodosic’s move to the starting lineup sent Phoenix Suns draft pick Bogdan Bogdanovic to the bench. But the 22-year-old, who will be playing in Turkey this season, responded well. He scored 21 points in Serbia’s Round of 16 win over previously unbeaten Greece and has shot 12-for-20 (6-for-12 from 3-point range) in his two games in Madrid.

Bogdanovic is clearly shorter than his listed height of 6-foot-6 and French forward Nicolas Batum has a few inches on him. But Batum considers Bogdanovic a serious challenge.

“He’s one of the guys I hate to play against,” Batum said earlier this week. “I hate guarding him, because he can really score.”

Bjelica vs. Diaw

These two teams have two of the most skilled power forwards in the tournament, providing another fun matchup.

Serbian forward Nemanja Bjelica, whose draft rights are held by the Minnesota Timberwolves, is a tantalizing player. He’s 6-foot-10 with terrific all-around skills. He didn’t score a lot in the quarterfinals, but beat Brazil’s bigs off the dribble to create for others, dishing out five assists, while scoring eight points and grabbing eight boards.

Boris Diaw has the size and quickness to match up well with Bjelica. His passing skills are well known, and he was more aggressive against Spain on Wednesday, taking 12 shots and hitting three of his seven 3-pointers.

After Miroslav Raduljica was waived by the Los Angeles Clippers the day before the World Cup began, Serbia didn’t have a single player on an NBA roster. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but they proceeded to go 2-3 in Group A, beating only Egypt and Iran.

Now, after an 18-point victory over 5-0 Greece and a 28-point win over 5-1 Brazil, Serbia finds itself in the semifinals and in position to win a medal. On Friday, it will play the winner of Wednesday’s second quarterfinal between Spain and France.

Behind some big defensive stops by Nene, Brazil took a three-point lead with two minutes to go in the second quarter. But Serbia ended the half on an 8-0 run and proceeded to score 16 points on its first five possessions of the third, thanks to a seven-point possession that was a result of two technical fouls on Brazil. The rout was on from there.

Though their names might not be familiar to the average American basketball fan, there are a lot of very good players on this Serbian team, a mix of young talents and veterans who have enjoyed a lot of success on the international level.

Milos Teodosic, the veteran point guard who would make for a explosive NBA reserve, led Serbia with 23 points, shooting 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Nemanja Bjelica, a 6-foot-10 forward with tantalizing skills whose rights are held by the Minnesota Timberwolves, took advantage of mismatches and finished with eight points, eight rebounds and five assists. And Phoenix Suns draftee Bogdan Bogdanovic continued to show improved play off the bench, extending the Serbia lead to 29 with a ridiculous, step-back 30-footer with a hand in his face.

“He’s not at all a bench player,” teammate Vladimir Stimac said of the 22-year-old Bogdanovic, who will play in Turkey next season. “This guy is probably going to be a legend of Serbian basketball.”

Bogdanovic acknowledged afterward that his team isn’t 28 points better than Brazil.

“This was not a real result,” he said, “but I think we deserve it.”

Serbia is playing its best at the right time. Brazil, meanwhile, had made it clear that it wanted to medal at this tournament, and it was the third best team through the round of 16, with only a loss to Spain in Group A. But its group of four NBA players will be going home empty-handed, and both the U.S. and Spain should take note.

September 21, 2013 · 2:19PM

HANG TIME NEW JERSEY — Serbia grabbed Europe’s final automatic berth to next year’s World Cup of Basketball with a big win over Italy in the seventh place game at Eurobasket on Saturday.

Serbia took control with a 15-1 run spanning the first and second quarters and they were able to handle any run that Italy tried to make, cruising to a 12-point victory. Nenad Krstic led Serbia with 17 points, while Nemanja Bjelica contributed a double-double and the Warriors’ Nemanja Nedovic added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.

It was a tough finish to the tournament for Italy, who got just eight points on 3-for-13 shooting from Marco Belinelli. They won all five of their first-round games and beat Spain in round 2, but they lost five of their last six games to finish eighth and out of the WCOB field. Now, they may have to compete with Brazil, Canada, China, Greece, Nigeria, Russia, Tunisia and Turkey for the four wild card spots to be chosen later this year.

September 8, 2010 · 1:36PM

ISTANBUL — Another classic at the Sinan Erdem Dome.

Milos Teodosic was the hero, pulling up for a loooong three with 3.1 seconds left to win the game for Serbia. Spain, the defending world champions, will not medal here in Istanbul. They will move to the consolation bracket now, with Serbia advancing to Saturday’s semifinals, where they will play the winner of tonight’s Slovenia-Turkey game.

Many will call this an upset, but I don’t really see it that way. Serbia had the most efficient offense in pool play, and through the round of 16, they were the third best team in the tournament statistically (behind the U.S. and Turkey), ranking second offensively and third defensively.

Spain, with as much talent and experience as they have, just hadn’t played that well.

Of course, this game was won by the narrowest of margins. It’s not like Serbia was far and away the better team on Wednesday.